Medical stretchers can be difficult to maneuver, whether on a battlefield or in a hospital setting. Design of a stretcher holder must attend to concerns about patent comfort, welfare, reduced bumping and vibration which may aggravate trauma. Another consideration is the practicality of the device for patient transport by emergency personnel. Therefore, a light-weight, collapsible stretcher holder, that can sustain a variety of stretcher shapes would be most expedient.
The following prior art discloses the various aspects in the design of stretchers and associated devices.
Applicant's citation AA is U.S. Pat. No. 2,276,236, a STRETCHER SUPPORTING FRAME, granted Mar. 10, 1942, to George W. Latimer, which discloses a stretcher supporting frame to transport the sick or injured, wherein the support is a knock-down frame for storage in a relatively small space.
Citation AB is a STRETCHER HOLDER DEVICE FOR AMBULANCES, U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,500, granted Feb. 8, 1977, to Andre Bonifay, which comprises a frame with uprights and longitudinal cross-pieces to support individual stretchers.
The next citation AC titled STRETCHER CARRIER, is identified by U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,496, granted to David A. Holmes on May 16, 2006. The carrier comprises a support platform in horizontal position with a connected wheel support and a lockable foot prop that supports the stretcher on ground surface and pivots to facilitate movement of the carrier.
Applicant's citation AD, U.S. Pat. No. 7,082,632, granted Aug. 1, 2006, to Thomas W. Hood, discloses a COLLAPSIBLE, EXTENDABLE, TRACTION-PROVIDING, PORTABLE RESCUE DEVICE, that can stabilize a victim with cervical traction in the field and having removable, washable, easily cleaned padding.
Citation AE, U.S. Pat. No. 7,637,550, granted Dec. 29, 2009, to Ezio Menna, provides a STRETCHER AND A PATIENT TRANSPORT SYSTEM, with an automatically-raising stretcher that can be loaded and unloaded from ambulances, without the operatives having to support the weight thereof physically.
Citation AF, U.S. Pat. No. 7,676,861, granted Mar. 16, 2010, to Phillip Ward, et al., discloses a STRETCHER with cot sides and rails which prevent the patent from falling off or rolling off the stretcher.
Another example of the prior art for a field stretcher carrier is that produced in the past by the United States Armed Forces to transport patients on stretchers within field hospitals, or from the first aid station to a helipad and vice versa. The requirement was to easily move patients around in the modular structures, which are formed of tents and therefore do not have smooth flooring.
This prior art stretcher carrier was fitted with wheels of a sufficient diameter to pass over both the barriers between the tents and the rugged terrain near the field hospitals. This terrain is very often uneven, with stones, grass and the like, as well as being exposed to the local atmospheric conditions, i.e. mud, water and snow.
The original stretcher carrier was designed solely for carrying ECO-type stretchers with set measurements in compliance with NATO standards. Its structure was made of aluminum and the wheels were fitted with inner tubes and rims with spokes.
However, a stretcher or litter carrier of this kind has various limitations and drawbacks. First of all, a huge variety of stretchers are used in military and civilian environments. This heterogeneity concerns not only their dimensions, but also their structures, which have varying degrees of rigidity. It is therefore clear that a prior art stretcher carrier of the type described above is not suitable for use with all types of stretchers.
The aluminum structure of the prior art stretcher carrier makes it light and sturdy, but also means that special welding equipment is needed to repair the structure in the event of breakage. Furthermore, the use of wheels with spokes means that the spoke tension has to be checked regularly.
Therefore, the prior art stretcher carrier may require frequent maintenance work. If this work is not carried out, the stretcher carrier may turn out to be unusable at the very time when it becomes indispensable.
Considering the above, the purpose of the present invention is to offer an improved and more versatile field stretcher carrier which overcomes the limitations and the drawbacks of the prior art stretcher carriers.
A primary object of the present invention is a field stretcher carrier, i.e. a structure with wheels that allows patients lying on stretchers to be transported across rough, uneven terrain such as earth, grass, gravel, sand, snow and places without smooth flooring in general, for example field hospitals and sites where first aid is given, in both military and civilian situations.
Another object of the present invention is to offer a field stretcher carrier that is compatible with all of the types of stretcher's currently in civilian and military use.
Still another aim of the present invention is to provide a field stretcher carrier that minimizes the amount of maintenance work necessary, thus also reducing the risk that it will be unusable at the time when it is actually needed.
A further aim of the present invention is to provide a field stretcher carrier that takes up little storage space, but can also be rapidly assembled and made operational.
These and other objectives are achieved by the invention in the form of a field stretcher carrier as described in claim 1. Other distinctive characteristics of the invention are described in the respective subordinate claims.